Real Salt Lake: The return of Stephen Sunday and what it means for the offseason

Sunny has strung together a handful of solid performances in the 2017 season, despite RSL’s struggles. How will that impact future changes?

Few things are as inevitable as change, and following a disappointing start to the 2017 MLS season Real Salt Lake will likely make several big changes to their roster over the next two transfer windows. Continuing a transition that began in the off-season.

More evidence of changes to come can be found in the post-game comments of head coach Mike Petke. Following the second consecutive, humiliating loss on their quick Texas road trip, Petke gave a word of counsel to his players,

"We have a break now. I made it very clear to the guys; go enjoy yourself, you need a break. I advised them to workout during their break because when they get back, and we have the Under-20 and injured boys back, they are going to be fighting like dogs for positions because it’s not good enough. It’s not good enough individually, collectively, from key players in key positions, not talking about everybody on the field, but I’m at a point now where I can’t protect people anymore. I’ve never been through something like this. It’s blowing my mind, but perhaps this is the right time for a break. When we get back, it’s going to be fun to watch them fight like dogs to get on that field. If I was a player, I wouldn’t be at the beach. I wouldn’t be wherever perhaps some of them are going to go. I would be in the gym. I would be on the soccer field. I would be going to see a sports psychiatrist. That’s exactly what I would do. I would come back raring to go because I’m appalled at certain things."

One player, in particular, seemed to take that advice to heart.

The Return of Sunny

Sunny signed with RSL in January, just before the start of last season. He was relatively unknown, something that made the move a bit of a surprise along with his peculiar name. After starting his professional career in Nigeria, Stephen Sunday was noticed by now dissolved Segunda Division side Poli Ejido in Spain. Sunny would later get the attention of La Liga side Valencia, and spend the next few years of his career with several different Spanish teams between the top two divisions.

His success in Spain took him to Eastern Europe, and eventually to Real Salt Lake. He caught on quickly with RSL. He started both Champions League matches against Tigres, and in his Rio Tinto MLS debut, he scored his first goal and earned a free kick that ended up leading to the game winner. He would go on to be known for his disruptive play, and was a regular starter, starting 11 of RSL’s first 14 matches, before his severe facial injury against the New York Red Bulls almost exactly a year ago.

Following his return from multiple facial fractures, the midfielder was visibly rusty, and understandably played less recklessly. He would only have four more appearances on the season. This season, however, he looks to have returned to his old form.

The heir apparent?

Last off-season, RSL fans saw the club part ways with long-time leader and creator Javi Morales, and a similar shift from veteran mainstays is likely to continue this off-season. At age 35 and in the last year of his contract it’s not hard to imagine changes coming for captain Kyle Beckerman after 10 amazing years in the claret and cobalt to go with seven additional MLS seasons.

Beckerman has still played a key role with RSL this year, and has shown that he still has the ability to contribute at a high level, but Father Time is undefeated. Kyle has made 11 appearances for RSL this year, all of them starts. Sunny has made 11 as well, with nine starts and two subs. Interestingly enough, they haven’t been all that different, and Sunny has arguably been better.

They’ve started together four times, which led to three losses and a draw. Both have shown well as lone d-mids, and those matches have accounted for all of RSL’s wins and the only other draw. RSL’s struggles go a lot deeper than simply stating who is typically paired behind Albert Rusnák, but it shows that Sunny and KB both thrive in a similar role, which allows for a more attack focused midfielder to play farther up the field.

This becomes more apparent in the fact that only two of RSL’s 15 goals have occurred while Sunny and Beckerman were on the field at the same time. The late goal against Minnesota United and the set piece goal by Plata against the Dynamo.

Like for Like?

Both Sunny and Beckerman thrive at disrupting the midfield and connecting the defense with the attack. Their stats are similar in this regard as well. Sunny is averaging 3.2 tackles and 1.5 interceptions a game while completing 85.2% of his passes, only behind Jose Hernandez for the team’s best, where he averages just over 38 attempts. Beckerman averages, 2.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, and 77.5% on a much higher 53 average attempts.

As far as roster makeup goes, the biggest difference is the salaries between the two. Beckerman is the highest paid TAM player on the roster, hitting the cap at just under $1-million with $825,000 guaranteed (according to the MLS Player’s Union, for what its worth). Sunny makes a much more cap friendly $253,000, and given what we’ve seen between the two this year, the half-a-million dollar difference in pay could go a long ways in rebuilding the roster for the next era of Real Salt Lake.

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Conclusion

None of this is meant as a slight to Kyle Beckerman. The World Cup veteran is arguably the most prominent figure in Real Salt Lake history and is more deserving of having his name carved into the walls of Rio Tinto than even Jason Kreis. It’s unrealistic to imagine the captain leading the midfield for many more years, but it is comforting to know that there is someone capable of filling in on the roster, and all signs currently point to that being Sunny.